Arrangement to prevent loading of main cylinder in carding machines



Oct. 29, 1963 F. REITERER 3,108,331

ARRANGEMENT TO PREVENT LOADING OF MAIN CYLINDER IN CARDING MACHINESFiled Sept. 26. 1961 INVENTOR.

FERDINAND REITERER his ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice hlfidfidlPatented Get. 29, 1963 ARRANGEMENT TG- PREVENT LQADENG F MAlN QYLENDEEEEN GARDENS MACHINES Ferdinand Reiterer, Rueil-Malmaison, France,assignor,

by direct and mesne assignments, to Whitiu Machine Works, Whitinsville,Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 26, 1961, Ser. No.140,950 Claims priority, application France Sept. 30, 196i) 5 Claims.ill. L B-98) This invention relates to machines for carding fibrousmaterial and, more particularly, to a new and improved carding machinearranged to prevent fibers from accumulating at the bottom of theclothing on the main cylinder of the machine.

In conventional carding machines a main card cylinder or swift providedwith a toothed clothing on its outer surface collects a layer of fibrousmaterial from a lickerin and carries it on the tips of the teeth past aworking member, such as a revolving chain of fiat cards, which also hasa toothed clothing. During this process the teeth of the working member,which move at a different rate of speed from those of the main cylinder,engage the fibers in the layer carried by the clothing of the maincylinder so as to disentangle them and remove foreign matter.Frequently, however, and especially when the carding machine is operatedat high speed, substantial quantities of fiber are compacted at the baseof the toothed clothing so that it becomes clogged or loaded and thiscauses the formation of locks and flocks which impair the quality of thefibrous web produced by the machine. Heretofore, the compacted fibershave been removed from the main card clothing by a rotating wire brushor the like which engages the clothing of the cylinder after the web offibers has been removed, but this arrangement has not provedsatisfactory because the bristles of the brush break easily and theoperation of the brush requires constant supervision.

Furthermore, in many carding machines, two or more revolving flat chainsor other working members having different types of clothing or differentrates of speed are provided in an attempt to reduce loading of the maincylinder clothing. These arrangements have, in general, beenunsatisfactory because the mass of air set in motion by rotation of thecard cylinder tends to flow away from the main card clothing in thespace between the two working members, carrying with it considerablequantities of fibers and dust which create obstructions in the second ofthe two working members.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved carding machine which overcomes the above-mentioneddisadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedarrangement for carding machines which prevents the card clothing on themain cylinders from becoming clogged.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carding machine of theabove character having two or more working members wherein the spacebetween the working members is effectively utilized and accumulations ofdust and fibers is prevented while the second working member is renderedmore elfective.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing, in acarding machine having a rotatable main cylinder and a Working membercooperating with the main cylinder, a perforated plate which extendsparallel and adjacent to the card clothing located beyond the workingmember in the direction of rotation of the main cylinder, along with asuction device connected to the perforated plate. Preferably, themachine includes two working members and the perforated plate is locatedbetween them. With this arrangement the mass of air set in motion by therotation of the main cylinderescapes through the perforated plate and,in conjunction with the suction applied to the plate, it draws thefibers away from the base of the clothing and out to the tips of theteeth.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from areading of the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing which is a fragmentary view, partly in section,illustrating a typical carding machine having an arrangement forpreventing loading of the main cylinder clothing according to thepresent invention.

in the representative embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing,there is a main card cylinder 1 supported for rotation in the directionindicated by the arrow. This cylinder is provided with the usual toothedclothing in mounted on its. outer surface which picks up a lap of fibersfrom a lickerin (not shown) and delivers the fibers after processing toa dofier (not shown). In order to disentangle and clean the fiberscarried by the main cylinder clothing a first working member, such as arevolving flat chain 2 supported by brackets 2a from the carding machinehousing and located along a first portion of the main cylinder surfacebetween the lickerin and the doifer, is provided. This chain is of theusual type comprising a plurality of flat cards 2b which extend thewidth of the cylinder .1 and it is driven in the direction indicated bythe arrow by a sprocket wheel 20 so that the fiat cards engage thefibers carried by the clothing 1a to clean them and straighten them out.

Moreover, the carding machine also includes a second working membercomprising another revolving flat chain 3 located between the first fiatchain 2 and the dotfer and driven by a sprocket wheel 3c. If desired,the clothing on the flat cards 3b of this chain may have finer and moreclosely spaced teeth than those of the cards 2b to provide a greaterdegree of alignment of the fibers in the lap carried by the maincylinder clothing. Also, the surface speed of the flats 3b with respectto the main cylinder may be different for the two fiat chains. Forexample, the flats 212 may move in the opposite direction with respectto the main cylinder clothing do as indicated by the arrow, to provide arelatively high speed differential for the initial carding operation,thereby separating a substantial quantity of impurities from the fibers,while the flats 3b of the second chain 3 may move in the same directionas the clothing 1a but at a lower speed so as to reduce the proportionof waste removed from the lap.

In accordance with the present invention, a perforated plate 5, whichextends parallel and closely adjacent to the main cylinder clothing inis mounted in the space between the two fiat chains 2 and 3 so that itcovers substantially all of the main cylinder clothing which is notcovered by the flat cards 2b and 3b. This plate forms an end wall of anenclosure 4 which also includes two curved side walls 6 and 6a adjacentto the sprocket wheels 2c and 30, along with two other side walls, 6band other wall not visible in the sectional view shown in the drawingextending parallel to the ends of the main cylinder i. In order to drawair away from the clothing la and through the perforated plate 5 asuction duct ia is connected to the outer end of the enclosure 4.

In operation, the main cyliuderl and the fiat chain drive sprockets 2cand 3c are rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows and suctionis applied to the enclosure 4 through the duct 4a. A layer of fiberssupplied to the main cylinder by the lickerin and carried by the teethof the clothing 1a is worked by the flats 2b to align the fibers andremove impurities. In this process some fibers are forced down to thebottom of the teeth of the clothing it: s that, if sufiicient quantitleswere permitted to accumulate there, the clothing would become clogged orloaded. As the clothing [passes beneath the perforated plate 5, however,the mass of air moving with the clothing is drawn outwardly through theplate by its centrifugal impetus and the suction within the enclosure 4.This pulls the fibers from the bottom of the clothing outwardly as faras the tips of the clothing teeth, the perforated plate 5 beingeifective to prevent the fiber layer from becoming detached from theteeth. As a result, when the fiber layer is subsequently taken off bythe doffer substantially all of the fibers are removed from theclothing. Moreover, the fiber layer, having been raised to the tips ofthe teeth, is worked more efficiently by the flats of the second chain3. An additional advantage of the arrangement of the present inventionis that it provides an extra cleaning operation because fine dustparticles and fly are sucked through the perforated plate 5 and are thusremoved from the fiber layer.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to aspecific embodiment, many modifications and variations therein willreadily occur to those skilled in the art. For example, more than twofiat chains or other working devices may be provided and a perforatedplate 5 and suction enclosure 4 may be mounted between each adjacentpair of chains or, if desired, the perforated plate and suctionarrangement may be provided at the end of a single fiat chain.Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included withinthe intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a carding machine having a rotatable main cylinder provided with atoothed clothing and a working member adjacent to the clothing forworking a layer of fibers carried by the clothing of the main cylinder,a device for preventing the clothing from becoming clogged comprisingmeans forming a fixed perforated surface mounted closely adjacent to theclothing at a location beyond the working member in the direction ofrotation of the main cylinder and having a plurality of perforationsdisposed across the width of the main cylinder, and means to direct airthrough the perforated surface and away from the clothing to draw fiberstherewith toward the tips of the clothing teeth.

2. A carding machine according to claim 1 wherein the means forming aperforated surface comprises an enclosure including a perforated endwall located parallel and closely adjacent to the main cylinder clothingand a side wall located closely adjacent to the working member.

3. A carding machine comprising a rotatable main cylinder provided witha toothed clothing, at least two working members adjacent to theclothing and angularly spaced therealong for working a layer of fiberscarried by the clothing of the main cylinder, and a device forpreventing the clothing from becoming clogged comprising means forming afixed perforated surface mounted closely adjacent to the clothing at alocation between the two working members and having a plurality ofperforations disposed across the width of the main cylinder, and meansto direct air through the perforated surface and away from the clothingto draw fibers therewith toward the tips of the clothing teeth.

4. A carding machine according to claim 3 wherein the working membersare revolving flat chains.

5. A carding machine according to claim 3 wherein the means forming aperforated surface comprises an enclosure including a perforated endwall located parallel and closely adjacent to the main cylinder clothingand a pair of opposite side walls located closely adjacent to the twoworking members respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,049,824 Rosell Aug. 4, 1936 2,049,827 Serra Aug. 4, 1936 2,118,200Hess May 24, 1938 2,481,002 Castell Sept. 6, 1949 2,627,631 Castell Feb.10, 1953 2,683,901 Griswold July 20, 1954 2,935,766 Lehman May 10, 1960

3. A CARDING MACHINE COMPRISING A ROTATABLE MAIN CYLINDER PROVIDED WITHA TOOTHED CLOTHING, AT LEAST TWO WORKING MEMBERS ADJACENT TO THECLOTHING AND ANGULARLY SPACED THEREALONG FOR WORKING A LAYER OF FIBERSCARRIED BY THE CLOTHING OF THE MAIN CYLINER, AND A DEVICE FOR PREVENTINGTHE CLOTHING FROM BECOMING CLOGGED COMPRISING MEANS FORMING A FIXEDPERFORATED SURFACE MOUNTED CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE CLOTHING AT ALOCATION BETWEEN THE TWO WORKING MEMBERS AND HAVING A PLURALITY OFSATINGLY PERFORATIONS DISPOSED ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE MAIN CYL-